The first serious attempt at building a subway in New York City occurred in 1866. The following decades saw a sequence of 15 failed attempts, and the first subway in New York City would not begin operations until 1904. When we consider how popular the subway was, these failures are remarkable. Many of the important actors were indifferent or opposed, and those who supported building a subway were comically bad at coordinating. Only widespread, mostly decentralized public support was able to p...
